Recently I was travelling back from a conference by coach when I was fortunate enough to see some outstanding desperation and (eventually) wetting. I seem to have an uncanny knack for spotting these situations, here is the tale:

I have been working like crazy lately, 80 hour weeks, days, nights, working at home as well as at work, so when the opportunity arose to travel back from a conference in Scotland by Coach I jumped at the chance! It would mean some much needed down time in which to collect my thoughts, okay I’d be trapped on a coach but it was an excuse to take a good book and enjoy reading it guilt free. I arrived at the coach station and was delighted to see that there weren’t many passengers waiting, it would mean I could have a seat to myself and stretch out a bit.

We boarded and I found a seat on the driver’s side just before the back of the coach, I noticed there was no toilet on board, which wasn’t a problem for me but I immediately realised I may get to witness some desperation! As I was daydreaming about that thought a lady in her early 30s, slim with pale grey ¾ length cotton trousers and a baby pink silk vest approached and sat across the aisle from me, I was just thinking that if she was to have an accident those trousers wouldn’t hide it when the tannoy interrupted my thoughts.

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to this National Express Service from Edinburgh to Birmingham, we anticipate our arrival in Birmingham at approximately 3:45pm, passengers may have noticed that there are no toilet facilities on board this coach due to unforeseen circumstances but rest assured that we will make regular stops along the way to ensure that passengers have every opportunity to use the facilities.”

I looked at my watch, it was 9:30am, this really was going to be a long journey and I wondered just how often we would be stopping… My attention turned back to the lady in the seat opposite who was making herself comfortable, she had removed a thin grey cardigan and placed it in the overhead space and had also removed her white flip flops and kicked them beneath her seat, she turned her back towards the window so that she was facing me and placed her bare feet on the seat next to her with her knees raised. She then opened a book and began to read.

I did the same, practically mirroring her in position but will my legs outstretched and crossed in front of me and my shoes still intact. The coach began to move and I started to read intently, we stopped about an hour later for our first toilet stop, a few people got off and the lady opposite me stood and walked around a little, she seemed to have a problem with sitting for long periods so did this regularly before sitting down and resuming her position. With the motion of the coach, the cool breeze and my sheer exhaustion it was all I could do to keep my eyes open and I found myself drifting off into blissful sleep…

I awoke gently some time later ( almost 2 hours later) as we pulled into our second toilet stop, most of the coach alighted this time, clearly desperate to relieve themselves after a longer stretch on the road. The lady opposite me was eating a sandwich which I assumed that she had bought with her, I noticed that one of her flip flops had slid back and was now under the seat behind her, just as I was wondering whether she had realised she bent forward to look for them and stood up to retrieve the second one from behind her, she slipped them onto her feet and once again walked up and down the coach. This time sipping water from a bottle as she did so, after around ten minutes the remainder of the passengers began to filter back on board, some with sandwiches and drinks too. I was confident that I would be seeing some desperation, as long as the length of time to the next stop was adequate.

The driver came to the back of the coach and opened a couple more windows as it really was getting hot now in the middle of the day, the lady opposite called to him “Excuse me, how long will it be until our next toilet stop?” she enquired, “Probably around an hour or so madam, although if you need to go I’d suggest going now before we depart as I can’t guarantee how the traffic will affect us” he replied thoroughly, “No, thanks I don’t need to go as such I was just curious as I don’t want to drink too much and be caught short!” she laughed. Her words rang in my ears; I don’t need to go “As such”, what did that mean? Did she need to go a little? Was she aware of her bladder’s capabilities therefore was she holding it deliberately? The two of us, by my observations were the only passengers who had not departed the coach at either stop so far, I needed it a little but would easily wait until the next stop if not until I reached home… She must need it too; I was consumed by the thought of her bladder filling, so much so that I read the same page of my book over and over.

She looked comfortable enough and was showing no outward signs of desperation or even discomfort, perhaps she just had a large bladder similar to me? What if it was bursting at the seams right now and she was secretly wondering whether she could manage another hour, what if we hit traffic? Could she manage to hold it? My mind raced with thoughts of her struggling as we approached the services, of watching her barely able to walk as she crossed the tarmac into the shiny glass building, frantically seeking out the fastest route to relief. I must have worn myself out as I one again fell asleep…

When I woke I looked immediately at the lady opposite, she was also asleep, the bottle that she had been sipping from was now empty, I strained to see the size on the label, 1.5 litres, my body stirred with excitement, that was a lot of liquid to be travelling to a bladder that was already potentially full or partially full. I prayed that something would happen to ensure that she had to endure that fullness a little longer than she had planned. She looked comfortable in her slumber, her head rested against the seat with her knees drawn up almost to her chest, she was leaning heavily on her right hip and her body was turned towards the seats, she was curled up and seemed to be fast asleep.

I wondered how full her bladder was now, if she would wake up bursting and unable to contain herself, and whether she would remain restrained or would be forced to give in and display her desperation… As I felt the coach slowing I knew I would soon find out, we were pulling into the services, many of the passengers were on their feet before we had even stopped, one lady was clearly bursting as she clung onto the grab rail with all her might whilst crossing her legs and jiggling, to my delight as the coach stopped they had to parade past my side of the coach to get to the services and the lady in question could hardly walk, I watched eagerly as she headed across the car park as quickly as she could manage without bursting, and disappeared into the service station.

I noticed that my lady opposite had not been amongst them, when I turned back it was immediately apparent why that was, she was still fast asleep. In fact she hadn’t even stirred as we had pulled in and parked, I was afraid to move for fear of disturbing her and causing her to rush off into the toilets. My own bladder was full and I was hungry, I secretly longed to head into the services in search of some lunch and maybe consider nipping to the toilet, but this was for the greater good. I would have to remain hungry and nurse my full bladder if I had any hope of witnessing her desperation. It felt as though we had been stopped forever, even the driver had left us presumably to eat and relieve himself, I watched eagerly for him to return and hoped that the sleeping lady opposite would remain asleep and not have to opportunity to relieve what I now felt sure was a full bladder.

My prayers were answered, finally after what felt like an eternity the driver returned, followed by the remaining passengers who all piled on board and settled themselves. I cringed as the driver started the engine and the coach juddered to a start, she stirred slightly as the coach began its journey out of the car park but moved only to brush her hair away from her nose before falling back into a deep sleep. I looked at my watch, it was now 2:20pm and I knew we were running late, “Ladies and gentlemen due to the unforeseen rest stops this coach is currently running approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes late, we are now due to arrive into Birmingham at approximately 5pm.” Nobody seemed to mind, most people seemed to be on their way back from holidays, I was in no particular rush… The lady opposite me had slept through the booming announcement somehow so was unaware.

Amazingly she also slept through the subsequent toilet stop, she had woken very briefly during the journey and had glanced at her watch and taken another bottle of water from her bag and sipped at it whilst taking some tablets. Perhaps she wasn’t feeling well and had a headache, which would explain the sleep. She glanced at her watch and out of the window before curling back up and promptly going back to sleep, 15 minutes later we arrived at the stop, I seriously needed the loo now but was reluctant to go… I knew my bladder had a little more room in it yet so decided to stay put, I had to do a little wiggle for a while to convince my bladder that we were okay, it over-reacted in exactly the same way as when you get to your front door at home and it gets over excited, once it realised we weren’t budging it calmed right back down.

Once again I willed the lady opposite to remain sleeping, knowing that this was probably the last stop before we arrived home… I was a little sad to think that any desperation I would see would be fairly short lived but hoped that she would soon wake up desperate enough for me to at least see a little, even if it was just as she left the coach, little did I know that I was about to see MUCH more than that! Finally we pulled away from the stop, as soon as we had exited the slip road and had reached full speed on the motorway the lady awoke. I had been staring at her in her sleep, keen to spot any signs of her body fighting to hold on but alas there were none. When she woke she stretched and seemed distracted by discomfort in her neck and back, she carefully turned in her seat and placed both feet on the floor and her hands on her knees whilst she straightened her back. Once she had done this a few times she placed one hand on her lower abdomen and gently rubbed, as she did so she winced and glanced at her watch…

I knew the signs, she needed a wee and was wondering where the stop was! My heart beat fast in my chest and my own bladder twinged with excitement as I watched her place her elbows on her knees and rest her head in her hands, she remained like this for a few minutes before once again placing one hand on her abdomen and gently rubbing in a circular motion, she was sat forward at a 45 degree angle as she placed her other hand beneath her bottom, as she did so she gently rocked from side to side a few times before coming to rest after placing her other hand beneath her bottom on the opposite side, her shoulders were raised and her toes were on the floor as she simultaneously bounced her knees rapidly, she had to go badly!

The sun was in my eyes so I reached down to my bag and swapped my glasses for my sunglasses, this served two purposes, it prevented me from getting a headache but also enabled me to watch her without her realising she was being watched since my sunglasses were so dark, I opened my book up and raised my knees, my bladder protested a little but once again calmed as soon as it realised it would not get its own way! I pretended to look at my book but instead stared over the top of it, my gaze fixed intently on my travelling companion as I watched her begin to struggle with her desperation. She alternated rocking from side to side on her hands with the knee bouncing for a while, before beginning to rock back and forth, when she did this she lifted her feet off the floor and rocked whilst gazing out of the window.

Occasionally she rocked forward and held her position there, thighs squeezed together, shoulders raised and leaning forward, no doubt putting pressure on her pee hole as she did so, her face looked relatively calm yet her body language was tense and uncomfortable. She removed her hands from beneath her bottom and stretched her fingers, returning circulation presumably before placing one hand side on between her knees, she checked the time with the other hand as she began to bounce her knees again before placing her other hand between her knees also and squeezing her thighs together… She glanced over at me briefly before slowly and carefully sliding her hands up closer to her crotch, when they got there she once again checked that I wasn’t watching and whilst keeping the hand nearest me sideways I saw her turn her other hand and press her fingers into the crotch of her pals grey trousers. She remained like this for a little while, her shoulders relaxed a little in apparent relief, with that I coughed and turned the page in my book whilst shuffling a little, she immediately removed both hands and returned them to beneath her bottom in a swift movement whilst resuming the knee bouncing.

I smiled inwardly, knowing I had forced her to forego relief for fear of being caught, I felt a little guilty since my own bladder was also uncomfortable, however I am more than used to the feeling, this may be a new and unsettling experience for her, but it was one I was going to cherish. I pretended to return to my book and she slowly and n a very considered manner turned her back against the window and lifted her legs back onto the seat, I could tell that she found this uncomfortable as she once again fidgeted her legs as she settled into position, she picked up her book and stretched her legs out in front of her, she used her book as cover as she slid a hand down her thigh and rested it in her crotch, once she had checked that I apparently wasn’t looking she crossed her legs and raised her book, I could see the gentle, barely visible movement in her arm which told me she was using her thumb to massage her pee hole.

Her bare feet constantly tapped together, she tried to stop them every now and again but as soon as her concentration dropped they started again, she was becoming powerless to hide it as her body tried everything to remain in control. After around 20 minutes she placed her book on her knees and leant her head back against the window, her face was flushed red and she had begun to sweat a little, she fanned herself with a piece of paper she was using as a bookmark and closed her eyes… She looked a little defeated as she placed the paper down and carefully touched her abdomen, without meaning to she lifted her silk vest a little and this showed me that her pale grey cotton trousers were cutting deep into her belly… This couldn’t have been helping her, she slipped her hand into her waistband and winced and visibly arched her back and recoiled as she slowly pulled her thumb round to the front at snails pace, evilly as soon as she came close I coughed loudly, this made her jump and I felt sure she leaked a little, her back straightened and her eyes shot open as she leant forward, knocking her book onto the floor as she did so, it slid towards my seat and she knew she would have to bend down to retrieve it, she looked at me, secretly hoping I would pick it up no doubt.

I did, I leant forward and squashed my own full bladder in the process, I grabbed the spine and picked it up before leaning forward to pass it to her, this forced her to do the same, she was clearly incapable of doing so and so she placed a foot on the floor and sat on her other heel as she leant forward to meet me. She took the book from me and thanked me, she sat back onto her heel and her face softened as she realised that this was a good way of applying pressure. “Would you like me to open another window, you look very hot?” I enquired, “Erm, yes, well it is very hot on here, that would be nice thanks” she smiled, there was a window just a few seats ahead of her that I was sure would afford her some breeze so I headed over there and pulled it open, it reminded me how full my bladder was as it jolted, I had to go fairly soon otherwise I would be displaying some desperation myself!

She thanked me and I assured her it was no problem before sitting down, “Excuse me” she interrupted as I settled back into my book, as I looked at her I noticed that she had unbuttoned her trousers, she must have done it quickly while I was not sitting opposite her as I could see the button protruding slightly beneath her vest, “Excuse me, sorry to disturb you but have I missed a services stop?” she enquired with a slightly pained expression on her face, “Yes indeed you have, in fact you’ve missed two!” I chuckled, she seemed surprised! “Oh wow! Okay, thanks!” she sort of half laughed back before adding “Are we running late too? We should be home by now?” I laughed again, “Yes you missed the tannoy announcement saying that we were around an hour and a half late due to having to stop, if you need to go badly I could ask the driver to make an unscheduled stop?” I enquired, knowing almost for certain that she wouldn’t want to cause a fuss. She did however, consider it for a moment, “Oh no I will be fine, it was more that I wanted a drink and some paracetamol as my head it thumping!” she replied. She seemed a lot more comfortable sitting on her heel and with her trousers unbuttoned, I guessed that a lot of the pressure had been relieved by these two things.

“I have paracetamol if you’d like some?” I offered, “Oh that’s nice of you thanks, but I haven’t got a drink to take it with, but thank you” she replied, “I have a spare one, it’s probably a little warm after being in my bag for hours but it’s a drink nevertheless and if you’re suffering then you’re more than welcome to it!” I offered, “Really?” she replied with a smile, “Oh that’s so nice of you thank you, it would really help, I’ve taken some ibuprofen but it hasn’t touched it, as long as you’re sure you don’t mind?” she replied, if only she knew! The prospect of her drinking more at this stage was like music to my ears, even if it was just a sip of water! I passed her the paracetamol and unscrewed the cap of the bottle and handed it to her, she placed the first paracetamol at the back of her throat and swallowed it down with a gulp of water then did the same with the second but instead of a gulp of water she continued to drink, she couldn’t seem to stop herself even though she must have known that it would backfire, unless she knew that she could just about hold out until we got back. She stopped and screwed the cap back on, the bottle was almost finished, it was only a ¾ litre bottle but that would soon also be making its way to her bladder.

She remained sitting on her heel for a while, her face pointing towards the cool breeze from the open window, she rested her head back against the seat and to my astonishment soon managed to fall asleep… I guess the suffering from her headache must have outweighed the suffering in her bladder, at least in her current position. I felt bad when we turned into the services a short time later; I wondered whether to wake her, I decided not to as she had told me it was only for painkillers and a drink so perhaps I had misjudged her desperation… However this time I HAD to go! I carefully stood up and squeezed out of the seat, careful not to make a sound, gravity’s effect on my bladder meant I was in a fair amount of discomfort if not even pain, so I carefully and slowly started down the coach, as soon as I was outside the need intensified a thousand times, I was desperate! I rushed as much as I could to the toilets, keen not to miss my travel companion making her run for it if she woke… I reached the building and could still see her back against the window in the coach.

Finally inside the serviced I searched for the toilets and found them at the top of an escalator, I rushed towards it and stood still, I couldn’t help but pee dance a little and wondered if I would short out the electrics if I wet myself although I was quite a way from that I felt… the escalator seemed to take forever but I was finally at the top, I headed off to the toilets and quickly searched out a cubicle. I felt like I couldn’t hold it a second longer, it’s amazing how the desperation intensifies as soon as you’re near a toilet… I pulled down my jeans and knickers and sat down and enjoyed a huge pee… As I sat there feeling the relief of an empty bladder wash over me I wondered if my lady was still fast asleep. As I was finishing I heard the door to the toilets burst open and heard someone rush in making ooh and Ahh sounds as they tried all the cubicles until she found an empty one, she made oooh sounds until she could manage to get her trousers off then the sound of a desperately needed pee was unmistakeable as it gushed full force into the toilet. I felt sure it was my lady and I had missed it, I headed to the sinks to wash my hands and tried to catch a glimpse of the person who had needed to go so badly. Eventually though I had washed and dried my hands so was forced to go, as I headed out of the services I felt disappointed…

However when I got halfway across the car park I could clearly see that familiar pink silk vest pressed against the window of the coach… I knew that the person who had almost wet themselves was still very much inside the toilets, probably cleaning up after some leaks so felt happier that I hadn’t missed it, although someone sadistic at the same time! I climbed the steps to the coach and resumed my position in my seat, sure enough the lady was still asleep, still sitting on her heel and holding the last few mouthfuls of my bottle of water in her hand. I knelt on the seat to be able to reach the overhead compartment and pulled out an apple and a banana, my bladder had been so full it had masked my hunger, now I was ravenous. As I knelt there I saw a lady get back on the coach and sit next to her husband a few seats in front of me, “You won’t believe how close I came to wetting myself while I was in the queue!” she said to him, “I’ve had to throw my knickers away they were soaked through!” she added. I guessed that she had been the person who came rushing in while I was relieving myself, I felt satisfied that it was not my subject however a little disappointed that I had missed it.

I sat and ate my fruit as I waited for the coach to depart the services, as I did so I watched the lady opposite for any signs of her waking up or her desperation. Finally the coach pulled out of the services and as we headed down the motorway to our final destination I was once again struggling to keep my eyes open… I must have only dozed off for a few minutes but when I woke up the lady opposite was also very much awake! She was leaning forwards with her bum right on the edge of her seat with her hands beneath her knees rocking back and forth, I noticed that she had discarded the bottle of water and had got one flip flop on, however the other had once again slipped back to the seat behind, I guessed that she was too desperate to search for it right now but that she wanted to be ready to make a swift exit as soon as the opportunity arose.

Every now and again I could hear her grunt in the back of her throat as she fought her body’s urge to let go, she arched her back and rubbed her bladder with one hand as she blew air out through pursed lips slowly, she placed her hands under her bottom again and rocked from side to side, she couldn’t keep her legs still now and they bounced up and down at the knee sometimes simultaneously and sometimes alternating. She remained like this for some time, head down, completely focussed, seemingly not caring how she looked. She groaned as she folded her arms across her stomach and bent double, resting her arms on her thighs. I could hear her let out little grunts and groans as the discomfort tore through her abdomen; it was all so familiar to me.

After a while she raised her head and in a fluid motion she lay right back, pushing her bottom down so that her back was on the seat, her head raised and the base of her spine and her buttocks were sort of in mid-air, she kicked off her one flip flop and placed both feet high on the back of the seat in front, she began to bounce her bent knees, in the same motion that she had done when she was sitting upright, she clearly hoped that lying on her back would affect gravity’s pull on her bladder. She clamped her hands between her legs and pulled them upwards towards her crotch, I had been so careful not to move a muscle while all this was going on, with my sunglasses on I believe she still thought I was asleep.

I watched silently as she removed one hand and slipped it down the front of her delicate pink knickers, for a moment she gently cupped her visible bladder bulge and then ever so gently pressed her fingers into it in a circular motion, perhaps to try and relieve the cramping that must have been causing her agony. She bit her lip and pulled up hard with her other hand as she pressed gently but firmly, her eyes closed as she tried hard to relax and regain some comfort by softening her spasming muscles. Her toes curled tightly and her body froze as she lay there massaging her bladder carefully, slowly regulating her breathing she clearly knew that calm is key and that she would be marginally more comfortable if she could relax her tummy muscles. She massaged lower and lower until finally her hand had all but disappeared into her knickers, I knew that she was now massaging either her clit or her pee hole, maybe both! She removed her hand from between her thighs and held it out in mid-air beside her, as if she was using it as some sort of balance. She held it palm outwards towards me before slowly lowering it and firmly gripping the edge of the seat, she groaned in the back of her throat as she squeezed her thighs together and brought her knees up to her chest, pointing her toes as she did so, it must have been agony however the relief that would have followed as she moved her knees back out would have been amazing.

She remained in this strange position, on her back with her feet against the chair in front of her, sort of like the birthing position for ages, she seemed fairly calm although clearly uncomfortable since she was still grunting slightly and kept squeezing her crotch with her hand which was now outside her knickers but remained down her trousers. Every now and again she wiggled her hips or pumped her knees and eventually she crossed one leg over the other and seemed to be in complete control, although I’m sure also in complete agony! Every now and again she lifted her head a little and looked out of the window, obviously trying to see how far away from home she was. I decided to move since my leg had almost completely gone to sleep, so sat up a little and pretended to read my book. Almost instantly she moved out of her odd position, clearly embarrassed, and resumed her sitting position. This could not have been a worse idea, I could tell by the look on her face and the frantic nature of her movements that she was barely able to remain in control.

Clearly her bladder felt like someone was using a red hot, blunt knife to rip her apart, as her folded arms over her abdomen and gasping in pain showed. She was scissoring her legs open and closed now, this seemed to help a little but she was struggling almost immeasurably and I felt a little bad for not waking her at the last services. Her face was deathly pale but will rosy circles on her cheeks, her whole body tensed as pain ripped through her and she fought to hold on, she turned to me “Excuse me, do you have any idea how much longer it will be until we get to Birmingham, I will need to book a taxi you see” she lied, she basically just wanted to know how much longer she would have to hold it. As she waited for my response she remained perfectly still and tried as hard as she could to look as though she wasn’t struggling to hold back what felt like a lake of pee… “Erm…” I began as I looked at my watch, “I think he said around…” my voice was interrupted by the sound of the tannoy, “Ladies and Gentlemen we are now approaching Birmingham, we have hit a little bit of traffic however we anticipate our arrival in approximately 45 minutes, thank you.”, “Oh that’s not too bad” she chirped.

I was surprised at her response, clearly she was able to hold on better than I had imagined, or else she was embarrassed and didn’t want to let on and genuinely thought I was fooled. She began to pack her things into her bag and slipped her flip flop back on again, she bent forward to look for the other one and let out a sharp “Ahh” as she must have squashed her bladder a little too much, she was really struggling to bend or move far from her current position, “Sorry did you call me?” I enquired, I knew very well she hadn’t but wanted an excuse to speak to her again, “No, I, erm, I was just looking for my other shoe, it seems to have disappeared!” she tried to chuckle but it hurt and I knew it, her face screwed up slightly into a wince and she could barely manage a smile. I felt bad so jumped up and retrieved her flip flop, I placed it at her feet and she shuffled her toes into it, the relief on her face that she wouldn’t have to bend to get it was obvious, “Thank you!” she replied.

I went back to pretending to read my book and she went back to pretending she wasn’t absolutely bursting for a wee, she was at that awful stage where you can’t stay still but it’s too painful to move very far, so she continued tapping one foot and very gently rocked her hips to and fro, she crossed her legs and leant back, the panic etched across her face increased and after glancing at me she quickly moved back to her former position. She breathed slowly and in a very measured way, almost sighing with every breath as if she was meditating. She began to hum a little tune as she groaned more and more frequently, it was all she could do to prevent her hand from creeping into her crotch and sometimes when she thought she was safe she slipped her fingers in there and squeezed, when she did this she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, it helped a huge amount but she daren’t keep her hand there in case I noticed.

15 minutes passed and she seemed anxious, I lifted my head and made brief eye contact and smiled, she was clearly waiting for an opportunity to talk to me “This is a long 4 to 5 minutes isn’t it? That traffic must have been worse than the driver thought!” she said, her voice quivering slightly. “Four to five minutes?” I enquired, “Yes, on the tannoy the driver said we were around four to five minutes from Birmingham… but that we had hit traffic, that seemed like ages ago!” she said, pausing in the middle to allow a cramp or urge to subside enough for her to be able to force the words past it. “He said FORTY FIVE minutes” I corrected, “As in three quarters of an hour!” I felt like her world shattered right there in front of my eyes, she shuffled a little in her seat and tears filled her eyes instantly a she realised she wasn’t going to make it. “Oh, I see, oh right, silly me! Mind you I guess that was a while ago so we must be nearly there now” she replied, I could hear the lump in her throat, “Have you got someone waiting for you?” I asked before adding “Because in actual fact we’ve barely moved since that announcement, the traffic is that heavy, I think we’re not much closer than we were back then!”, she blinked and a tear ran down her cheek, she immediately stopped it and wiped it away.

She struggled to stay still as she was talking to me, and the tears were fighting to roll down her cheeks, I felt bad, I didn’t want her to cry! She considered her answer very carefully and it felt like an age before she replied, “No, it’s not that, it’s just that I was wondering that’s all, I’m just quite tired and my head is, well, you know, and it’s been a long day and well, to tell you the truth I’m absolutely desperate for a wee, and erm, I’m not entirely sure how much longer I can hold it!” she babbled, without looking me in the eye, the tears of shame, desperation, pain and anxiety ran down her cheeks and she hung her head as the tears dripped and made dark spots on her pale grey trousers. “Well, it’s not long now, I’m sure we’ll be through this traffic soon enough and there’s plenty of toilets at the coach station!” I replied cheerily. She nodded as I passed her a tissue, “Thanks” she replied, “You’re right it’s not long, I’m just being silly of course I can hold it!” she replied as she sniffled and wiped her face with her tissue.

She tried to make conversation as she shuddered with desperation, “So, are you from Birmingham?” she asked, “Yes I am, I’m just on my way back from a work conference, are you?” I replied. She closed her eyes for a second and winced, she gasped a little and squeezed her thighs together, I decided to carry on speaking and be bold, “Are you having to squeeze everything just to hold it?” I asked, she nodded vigorously, “I’m okay honestly, yes I’m from Birmingham but I live in Scotland, I’m here visiting friends for the weekend” she said, surprisingly coherently. She sat bolt upright and quickly pushed her hand into her crotch, she grabbed her cardigan to hide her action and apologised, “It’s okay” I sympathised, “If you put your foot underneath you and sit on the heel of your foot it will help” I offered some advice as she continued to fight it, “It’s okay, I’ll be fine, it’s not long now, I’ve held it for this long I can manage a few more minutes” she visibly shook as she said it and her smile flashed across her face like lightning, I doubted she was still dry, she was fighting it so hard and was exhausted. “As long as you’re sure, I can ask the driver to stop?” I offered, it went against everything I stood for but I felt a strange urge to help her for some reason.

Her reply betrayed her condition more than anything else: “No, thank you for offering but, it’s, it’s absolutely fine, I’m sure I can… Its fine, I mean I’m sure I can… what was I saying? I mean, I, I think I can hold it, it’s really not that bad, I think I, I mean, erm, unless, I mean if you wanted to, you know, go, or anything, or… No, honestly I’m fine I think I can hold it, I mean we can’t stop the whole coach for… I mean, it would be a huge inconvenience, I can definitely, I mean I’m pretty sure that I think I might be able to hold it for a little longer, so unless you need to go?” she babbled, clearly trying to convince herself or not even having a clue how long she had left, “I don’t need to go but I will gladly ask the driver for you?” I replied, “No, thanks it’s fine, I can’t ask you to do that, the driver would be… You can’t ask him to stop just for me, I think… I think… I think… I, erm, can we see how I am in a couple of minutes, I can hold it for a couple of minutes more.” I nodded, “Okay, I won’t ask him then if you’re sure you can hold it all the way home” I concluded before quickly moving the conversation on.

“So is there a reason you’re visiting friends this weekend?” I asked, her face was a picture, a mixture of sheer terror, pain, exhaustion and panic, “Erm, a friend’s hen party, the driver wouldn’t stop for just me anyway would he?” she asked, rocking back and forth, clearly dying for me to ask as she was too embarrassed, “No probably not!” I replied before adding “Oh I see; so is it just the one night or the whole weekend for her hen party, when does she get married?” she replied I a strained voice “Erm not until July, just the one night, tomorrow, maybe it’s worth just checking with him, just to see, at least we’d know then wouldn’t we?” she continued, she wasn’t about to let it drop, “Ohh I see, going anywhere nice? July weddings are nice, you tend to get slightly better weather” I replied, ignoring her question completely, she crossed her legs and bent right forward with both hands in her crotch, then uncrossed her legs and frantically placed her foot under her bottom and began to bounce up and down, as she now had her legs open I could clearly see a distinct wet patch which seemed to extend right back to her bum.

Her fists were clenched and she groaned in pain with every bounce, but it seemed to be holding off the flood for now “Do you think we’re almost there?” she asked, “No, well, I think we’re about 20 minutes away but the traffic seems to be pretty bad so I think maybe…” she interrupted my sentence, “Can you ask the driver to stop, please!” she panted, she looked me in the eye for a moment in sheer desperation before looking back at her lap… “I’m so embarrassed, I think I’m going to wet myself!” she whispered. “I don’t think there will be any services now” I said “I don’t care, if he can stop anywhere, even the side of the road” she said, sobbing. I nodded and headed to the front of the coach, “There’s a lady at the back who is desperate for the loo, any chance of a stop?” I asked, “No chance” he replied, “I need to be in the right hand lane up ahead to get on the right junction, if she’s really desperate there’s some hospital bedpans underneath the back seat!” he added, “But she’ll have to take it with her when she gets off!” he said as I turned to walk away.

When I returned to the back of the coach she was on all fours in the midst of a manoeuvre to clamp her hands between her legs and kneel on the seat, she bounced furiously as I approached “Well?” she asked eagerly, I shook my head. “Oh God” she said calmly in a very serious voice. She continued to bounce for a few minutes before freezing suddenly, she knelt with her legs plaited and held her crotch and froze on the spot, “Oh god” she repeated, she leant forwards slowly, one hand still in her crotch the other on her bladder “Please hold on!” she begged herself quietly, “There is one option” I said, she looked at me hopefully “ANYTHING!” she said through gritted teeth.” There are some hospital bed pans under the back seat; you could go into one of those?” I explained, “Here?” she replied, “I can’t!” I nodded, “Okay, I understand” she gently rocked back and forth for a couple of minutes, jolting every now and again, it was apparent that the pee was at the very edge of her lips and threatening to escape as she kept quickly moving her second hand to her crotch and back again to her swollen abdomen.

As time passed she bent further and further forward until she was doubled over, “Okay, let me see these bedpans” she whispered, finally deciding that it was that or wet yourself. I headed to the back seat and searched underneath, there were only one long men’s one there, “There’s only these, how good is your aim?” I laughed as I showed it to her, it was a fancy plastic one with a lid, I had never seen anything like it before! “I’m willing to try anything! Look away!” she said, she grabbed it off me and I heard her fumbling with her trousers and grunting and panting, then all of a sudden just seconds later there was a loud hissing sounds followed immediately by the sound of the liquid hitting the bottle, the sound carried on without stopping, “I need another one, quickly!” she said, “There was only one!” I replied, “Oh God I can’t stop!” she whispered, then made a straining noise, I heard pee squirt into the bottle once, and again, this time longer, “I really can’t stop” she whispered, then another squirt followed by silence and the sound of the lid snapping on the bottle.

I waited for a while and turned towards her to see her holding the pee bottle full to the absolute brim of pee, “Are you sure there were no more?” she said, she was standing up in front of her seat dancing from side to side with her hand in her crotch inside her trousers… “I’m sure!” I replied, “Do you think we can empty this out of the window, I can’t hold it now I’ve started!” she said. “I’m pretty sure we’d be arrested plus it’s disgusting!” I replied. She crossed her legs and laid her pee bottle carefully on her seat so that she could use both hands in her crotch, “I’ve never been so embarrassed, I’m so so sorry!” she said, “It’s okay, you can’t help it!” I replied, it had occurred to me that since her aim seemed good she could use any of the three water bottles we had emptied to pee into, but I wasn’t about to suggest that. Finally after a few minutes she managed to sit down, “I feel a bit better now” she sighed, “Thank you so much, I most definitely would have wet myself without you!” she added.

She didn’t seem to want to talk any more, I guessed she was still bursting and uncomfortable so I once again pretended to read my book, I watched as she pee danced and jiggled around in her seat, frantically trying to hold on despite the remainder of her load waiting in her urethra, I knew that she was only holding now by clenching her labia tightly, and that they would soon tire. Finally we managed to arrive at the coach station, she had managed to hold it somehow and I’m sure was looking forward to a very much deserved dash to the toilets… I sort of hoped they were closed but at the same time wanted them to be open so that she could actually manage not to wet herself, my emotions were so mixed. She once again slipped on her flip flops and grabbed her bag, her bottom was dark grey and wet from her earlier leaks “You may want to tie your cardigan around your waist” I suggested, “Really? Is it that bad? Thanks!” she replied, blushing red with embarrassment. “Thanks again for everything” she said, almost too embarrassed to make eye contact. She stood in the aisle in front of me pee dancing, clearly still desperate.

“Don’t forget to collect your luggage from the side of the coach, as this coach is late for its next pick up so will be departing almost immediately, all bags MUST be taken IMMEDIATELY after alighting the coach” the driver tannoyed as we filed out, she groaned, this would mean further delay! She gingerly climbed down the steps and off the coach immediately froze with her legs crossed tightly a few steps later. She stood eagerly awaiting her baggage, bobbing slightly and bending forwards in pain; I wondered if she had remembered her pot of pee, or whether it would be a nice surprise for the next passengers? I watched as she stepped forwards a little, “Is there one with a green tag?” she asked the man unloading the luggage, she crossed her legs and swung from side to side before starting to do a sort of chicken walk for a minute, then resuming her leg crossing and barely daring to move.

She paced and pee danced as surreptitiously as she could manage until she found herself standing with her back to the coach, I saw a bag with a green tag being unloaded and expected her to rush towards it and rush away to the toilets but she didn’t move, she looked suspiciously over at me and quickly looked away again… She clearly spotted her bag and yet made no movement towards it, as I looked at her again, puzzled, I noticed that once again there were tears in her eyes and she was making attempts to keep them there rather than allowing them free passage down her cheeks… I wondered what was wrong; perhaps the exhaustion had gotten the better of her? Then I noticed, her bare flip flopped feet were glistening in the evening sun, behind her feet was a dark patch which was instantly recognisable as a puddle, and it was growing, running off the kerb and onto the roadside, I stood for a moment and watched the dark grey streaks grow wider and wider down her legs…

Her legs were firmly crossed yet still she couldn’t help it, her body had tired of her defiance and had taken a stand… And what a spectacularly beautiful stand it was! She glanced over at me and our eyes met, I gave her a sympathetic look and she burst into tears. I walked past her and grabbed her bag for her and placed it in front of her, I hugged her and felt her sobbing on my shoulder… As I let her go I looked down at her crossed legs and instructed her to just let go, and boy she did, despite the already sizeable puddle and grey streaks she managed to let go of a huge amount more, she stopped when finally her legs were soaked and her trousers had stuck to her, she shivered in the early evening breeze… Her feet slipped from side to side in her flip flops as she headed over to the toilets, she dragged her bag in with her and waved goodbye as she disappeared into the door.

I sat on the bench outside the toilets; I didn’t plan on waiting for her but felt weak with excitement at what I had just witnessed…

She emerged some twenty minutes later and was surprised to see me sitting there, she had dressed in a black jumper and had changed into a pair of pale blue jeans and some black ballerina shoes. “I can’t thank you enough for today” she said as she approached me, “It’s fine, I just wanted to check you were okay and assure you that it was no problem”, “Well thanks, it’s not every day you get lumbered with a grown woman with the bladder of a little girl on your journey I bet!?” she joked, “I’d say it was more the bladder of an oil drum, have you seen that puddle?” I pointed with a chuckle. “Oh God” she cringed, “I can’t believe I wet myself within mere feet of the toilets!” “It’s okay, clearly you were desperate beyond your bladder’s ability” I said, “Clearly!” she replied with a laugh, again gesturing towards the puddle before burying her head in her hands in shame! “Anyway I’d better be off, my friends will be wondering where I am” she said, “Thank you again kind stranger!” she said as she walked away… I never did get to learn her name!